SOC514 Seminar in Qualitative Methods Spring 1998

SOC512 Seminar in Sociological Methods Fall 2000

5-8:30 Wednesday 3410 Faner Hall

Kathryn Ward

Office: 3430 Faner Hall

Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 2-4pm; Wednesday 3-5pm by appointment

Phone: 453-7626 (Soc. Office) 453-7626 direct line

E-mail: kbward@siu.edu (I check my email at least once a day, early morning).

Seminar Objective: The purpose of this course is to provide some background and practical/hands-on experience in a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Students will have opportunities to apply a variety of research methods to their stated research question or problem through: generation and analysis of quantitative data through questionnaires and secondary data analysis; oral histories, documents & narratives, ethnography, visual representations, focus groups and overlapping variations. Students will have an opportunity to design and work with a project of their own choosing, either from some existing projects with faculty or other graduate students. I also want to give students an opportunity to explore locally available research opportunities.

Seminar Requirements:

In general, students will be responsible for assigned readings; research portfolio (diaries [see guidelines for entries], for example, relevant printouts, fieldnotes, transcripts, coding, memos, and analyses); applying/conducting three research methods to your research project: (one quantitative and one qualitative from list below or by agreement with me---parts of #3 may be qualitative or quantitative); research paper. Students will also participate in three structured exercises as part of a group effort. Diaries, memos, and class participation should reflect an understanding of the assigned readings. Students will also have rotating responsibility for leading discussions on the readings. The final paper will include relevant literature review, statement of the research problem or hypotheses, methods, analysis, and findings based on the three methods.

I strongly encourage you to acquire or borrow a working tape recorder—standard or micro cassette and a few tapes—for recording focus groups, interviews, etc. The department has some transcribing machines available for check out.

Experimental/ focus group

Assignment: replicate Andrew Hacker’s research from Two Nations on racial compensation in focus groups

2. Interviews:

Assignment: ethnography/ fieldwork--restaurant study of authenticity---Italian, Mexican, Chinese, bbq....

oral histories, life histories, focused interviews, foci group

Analysis of secondary data (overlaps qualitative and quantitative domains):

assignment—identify variables from General Social Surveys, code, crunch, and write up results

content analysis--books, documents, photos, theories
historical analysis
GSS, PSOID, NLY etc—national data sets/surveys
Government Data
Contextual analysis (combining data from different levels of analysis)
Cross-national Data
Ward’s aggregate data sets, cross-national, women’s movement, etc.
Evaluation

4. Questionnaire, survey

5. Mixtures

All assignments must be turned in on time. Given health concerns, I don't have the energy to chase you down. So just turn your work in!!!!

Course Grade

Research portfolio 50%

--diary*

reports on your research, methods, results

--writeups from three group projects and other assignments such as coding qualitative data

Scholarly paper with three methods 50%

*Diary entries include:

a) Notebook entries:summarize the major/salient points of readings

b) Research entries: describe your research related activities, problems questions, insights

c) Integrative entries: connect your research, class and & theoretical materials

d) Directed entries: responses to directed questions, events

e) Queries:

Note: These summaries will prove useful for comps, research methods sections of papers, etc. I also encourage you to read and write some every day on your readings and research rather than bingeing at the last minute. (See Boice, First Order Principles for Classroom Teachers or Joan Bolker, Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day [!])

Readings: The readings (books and articles) give an overview of research methods, data generation, and analysis techniques for diverse groups in terms of gender, race, class, sexuality, and geography. I’ve tried to select carefully for books that you will use throughout your career. Some of the books and readings will be on reserve in the soc reading room and all on reserve at the library.

We will read all of a few books and selected parts of others so relax, we won't be reading every word of all of these books. I may assign a few other articles as needed during the semester. Class members will share responsibility for leading discussions on books and articles, including handouts on salient points.

Books highly recommended for purchase

Earl Babbie, The Basics of Social Research (1999 edition)

Howard Becker, Tricks of the Trade.

Strauss and J. Corbin, Basics of Qualitative Research, 2nd ed (Sage)

Arlene Fink and Jacqueline Kosecoff, How to Conduct Surveys (2nd Ed) (Sage)

Valerie Yow, Recording Oral Histories (Sage)

David Morgan, Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, 2nd ed (Sage)

Ball, Analyzing Visual Data (Sage)

Smith, Media Content Analysis(Sage)

Recommended:

Denzin and Lincoln, Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials

Steve Jones (ed), Doing Internet Research. (Sage)

Collier and Collier, Visual Anthropology, 2nd ed (New Mexico)

Harry Wolcott, Writing Up Qualitative Research (Sage)

B. Glaser and A. Strauss, The Discovery of Grounded Theory

Robert Atkinson, The Life Story Interview (Sage)

Reference Recommendation:

Lofland and Lofland (3rd edition) Analyzing Social Settings.

Fred Pyrczak and Randall Bruce, Writing Empirical Research Reports, 2nd ed,

Denzin and Lincoln, Handbook of Qualitative Research (hardcover, but Sage has a three volume paperback edition. A few copies are floating around the department

Diane Wolf, ed: Feminist Dilemmas in Fieldwork (Westview)

Thomas Birbaum, Handbook of Focus Group Research, 2nd ed (Sage)

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The seminar will be conducted according to the following rules and goals:

Ground Rules for the Course:

1. Acknowledge that racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia exist.

2. Acknowledge that one of the meanings of racism/sexism is that we have been systematically taught misinformation about our own group and especially about members of devalued/minority groups (this is true for both dominant and minority group members).

3. We cannot be blamed for the misinformation we have learned, but we will be held responsible for repeating misinformation after we have learned otherwise.

4. We will not blame victims for their oppression.

5. We will assume that people are always doing the best they can.

6. We will actively pursue information about our own groups and those of others.

7. We will share information about our groups with other members of the class and we will never demean, devalue, or in any way "put down" people for their experiences.

8. We each have an obligation to actively combat the myths and stereotypes about our own groups and other groups so that we can break down the walls which prohibit group cooperation and group gain.

9. We will create a safe atmosphere for open discussion. This means both active listening to one another (and not always thinking about what we would say next). We will make sure that all members have an opportunity to contribute and will not allow a few to dominate the discussion. Further, at times, members of the class may wish to make a comment that they do not want repeated outside the classroom. If so, the student will preface his or her remarks with a request and we will agree not to repeat the remarks.

TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS

(Note that I will pick and choose some of the readings as per class interest and time—we won’t read all of these materials!)

Overview of methods/epistemology (8/23/00 and 8/30/00)

Discussion of research interests, potential projects, and range of methods and strategies

Start reading Howard Becker, Tricks of the Trade

Readings and Assignment Materials for 8/30/00

**ASSIGNMENT: your personal research history/class research problem statement/first diary entry, due 8/30/00

**get Informed Consent form from the Office of Research and Development/ORDA--Woody Hall--a table in the hall contains various forms or download from their web-site

Where goes sociology and sociological research?????

American Sociological Association website for code of ethics: http://www.asanet.org/ecoderev.htm

Judith Stacey, "Ethnography confronts the global village." Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 28(6) 687-697. 1999.

Alejandro Portes, "The Hidden Abode: Sociology as analysis of the unexpected." American Sociological Review 65(1): 1-18

Theodore Kemper, "Toward sociology as science, Maybe." Chronicle of Higher Education August 11, 2000 http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i49/49b00701.htm

Colloquy on Kemper article http://chronicle.com/colloquy/2000/sociology/re.htm